Horned God - Chaos, Bringer Of All Revelations
2003 - Listenable Records
By Philip Whitehouse
Go to the Listenable Records website.
Brazilian death metallers Horned God have been treading the boards since around 1998, when they were originally known as Sacrifice. Realising the somewhat commonplace nature of that name, they quickly took on their new monicker and concentrated on honing their brutal, technical death metal. Now, South American death metal does tend to rely heavily on the same few points of influence, and as such it should come as very little surprise to hear that this debut album reeks suspiciously of the likes of Krisiun, with bits of Immolation and Morbid Angel scattered here and there - however, death metal has never been a genre particularly noted for its innovatism or originality.
Horned God don't do anything new, but they do what they do very well. The Krisiun-esque spiralling-scale patterned riffs billow with the searing charge of pyroclastic gas, the frenetic pace rarely lets up (apart from the occasional thrash metal riff, like that found on 'Calling Upon The 4 Spirits Of Knowledge'), and the solos provide both a much-needed melodic break from the constant brutality as well as an opportunity for the guitarists to display their enviable virtuosity - 'War Goes On' in particular appeals to this reviewer, as I'm a sucker for intricate finger-tapping solos.
Low points - obviously, if you've even a passing interest in death metal, you'll have heard all of this before, to varying degrees of success. The drum production is somewhat weak too, meaning some of the impact and brutality is lost due to overly clicky bass drums and some quiet, inoffensive cymbals. Finally, the aforementioned relentless pace is just that - I personally think mid-tempo mosh sections with brutal groove are pretty damned important in death metal, so the constant breakneck speed wears thin.
So, yet another technically competent death metal band. I like 'em, and I'm sure other people will too - but really, when is someone gonna do something different with the DM template?
7/10
2003 - Listenable Records
By Philip Whitehouse
Go to the Listenable Records website.
Brazilian death metallers Horned God have been treading the boards since around 1998, when they were originally known as Sacrifice. Realising the somewhat commonplace nature of that name, they quickly took on their new monicker and concentrated on honing their brutal, technical death metal. Now, South American death metal does tend to rely heavily on the same few points of influence, and as such it should come as very little surprise to hear that this debut album reeks suspiciously of the likes of Krisiun, with bits of Immolation and Morbid Angel scattered here and there - however, death metal has never been a genre particularly noted for its innovatism or originality.
Horned God don't do anything new, but they do what they do very well. The Krisiun-esque spiralling-scale patterned riffs billow with the searing charge of pyroclastic gas, the frenetic pace rarely lets up (apart from the occasional thrash metal riff, like that found on 'Calling Upon The 4 Spirits Of Knowledge'), and the solos provide both a much-needed melodic break from the constant brutality as well as an opportunity for the guitarists to display their enviable virtuosity - 'War Goes On' in particular appeals to this reviewer, as I'm a sucker for intricate finger-tapping solos.
Low points - obviously, if you've even a passing interest in death metal, you'll have heard all of this before, to varying degrees of success. The drum production is somewhat weak too, meaning some of the impact and brutality is lost due to overly clicky bass drums and some quiet, inoffensive cymbals. Finally, the aforementioned relentless pace is just that - I personally think mid-tempo mosh sections with brutal groove are pretty damned important in death metal, so the constant breakneck speed wears thin.
So, yet another technically competent death metal band. I like 'em, and I'm sure other people will too - but really, when is someone gonna do something different with the DM template?
7/10
